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The Film

[Rating:2.5/5]

Simon Pegg has made a name for himself playing the slightly obnoxious but ultimately lovable good guy in comedies like Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End, which is why it may come as somewhat of a surprise to some to find him playing so far against type in this latest indie crime caper from director Kriv Stenders, Kill Me Three Times.

Pegg plays slithery hitman Charlie Wolfe who arrives in a small Australian surfing town and accepts an offer from bar owner, Sam (Steve Le Marquand), to kill his wife, Alice (Alice Braga; City of God). But when Charlie begins his plan, he finds that he is not the only one who wants the local beauty dead. Soon, Charlie finds himself embroiled in a three-way murder plot his plans to get the money he is owed and to kill Alice become increasingly complex.

Kill Me Three Times is staffed with an incredible cast of actors who all do their best with the material they have been given. Pegg is surprisingly good as the greasy hitman and Alice Braga is fittingly cast as the sexy femme fatale in this neo-noir caper. That said, director Stenders’ handling of this material and the screenplay from James McFarland hinder this film in evey way. It is a film of over-stylized effects where there shouldn’t be any, such as Stenders’ annoying use of sideways camera angles, and telling the story out of order. This is some poor attempt at emulating a Tarantino film without the skill of Tarantino in either the ability to hold the timeline together or to hold the audience with brilliant, natural dialogue.

Were it not for Pegg, Braga, and the beautiful scenery of the Western Australia coast, Kill Me Three Times would collapse on itself much of the time. While it is not a very good film, it still isn’t absolutely horrible and can at least offer a reasonable distraction, but will be quickly forgotten once the credits begin to roll.

Video Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

Kill Me Three Times arrives on Blu-ray in a 1080p/24 AVC encodement from Magnolia Home Entertainment’s Magnet imprint. The image looks as clean and crisp as to be expected from such a contemporary film. The color palette and general look of the film is straightforward, but generally bright, sunny, and nicely saturated. Just look at the shots of the vivid cerulean ocean. Even so, the flesh tones are very natural with no hints of red push. There is some very slight crushing in the darker spots, but it does not take away at all from the overall extended detail in this strong transfer.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4/5]

A single audio track in lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) is provided for Kill Me Three Times. It’s front-heavy, but does have a good amount of atmospherics and a weighty low end to make the various gunshots and explosions authoritative. Dialogue is also very full and clear.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

• Commentary with director Kriv Stenders and cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson
• Commentary with director Kriv Stenders and producers Larry Malkin, Tania Chambers, and Share Stallings
• The Making of Kill Me Three Times (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:18:16)
• Deleted Scene (2.35:1; 1080p/24; 00:04:53)
• BFI London Film Festival Q & A (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:14:29)
• Storyboards (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:05:16)
• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (1080p/24)
• Poster Gallery (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
• BD-Live

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:3.5/5]

Simon Pegg plays against character and Alice Braga is a sexy femme fatale in this flawed Aussie neo-noir that looks great on Blu-ray, but is an ultimately forgettable film.

Additional Screen Captures

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